tweeters in polk monitors

MikDrago · December 2005

Is it me or are the tweeters in the monitors two bright? I have monitor 50s in the front, 40s in the rear and a cs1. When I listen to music or movies they tend to get a little crackley and even a little piercing. Treble is turned almost all of the way down and speaker levels about +4 across front. I have a harman kardon avr110 receiver that has never been abused or pushed and previously powered rm6600s flawlessly. But now that i have changed speakers I just cant get used to the new tweeter. Does polk use the same tweeter in the rti line and will they fit in monitors? I don't want to mix different lines across fronts and like the monitors for the money but need a tweeter fix. Any ideas, help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

VR3 · December 2005

Your speaker levels should never be in the +.

Set your left main to -5 (take a reading) - then set your right main to that same level...

Then set your center +1 above your mains and your surrounds +2 above your mains.

For instance...

Mains - 70db
Center - 71db
Surrounds - 72db

And the RTi and Monitor are fairly bright.

BobMcG · December 2005

MikDrago wrote:

Is it me or are the tweeters in the monitors two bright?

It must be you for no speaker can ever be two bright.

Sorry, couldn't resist. It's just the mood I'm in today...

Welcome to CP and I think Sid has you on the right track for starters.

Tour2ma · December 2005

Agree that you're pushing your AVR too hard. A couple questions...

Is the sub (PSW350?) from the 6600 system in the current set up? Is there a sub at all?

If yes to either, how's it being utlized?

danger boy · December 2005

you need to post more than once per year. ha ha ha. :eek:

if they are ear piercing bright. then something is wrong with your system i'm thinking. i used to have a cheap-o pair of KLH towers.. now those suckes were hella bright.. for the most part.. Polk Audio speakers aren't to bright... esp like you are describing.

So i'm thinking it might be some kind of setting in your HK AVR... or in your speaker wires... or something else.

how about toe in? do you have them toed in to much? they should be nearly facing forward.. with just a slight toe in towards your seating position.

are these located in a room with wood floors? that will cause some of the sound to become harsh.

give us a bit more information on where you have these located in your house. and maybe something will jump out at us.

MikDrago · December 2005

Thanks for all of the responses. I have the psw350 set up with crossover at about 85hz. Volume on the sub is set about halfway and the setting on the amp for sub is about -5 for movies and usually at +2 for music when using pro logic mode. The speakers are not so bright that i have blood coming out of my ears after listening. Some dialog or sometimes music with high frequencies can cause the tweeter to almost strain and crackle. I had never noticed this with the rm6600s. I have also tried to put a few layers of felt behind the grill but in front of the tweeters carefully so as not to crush them to try to filter some of the highs. I also own an onkyo tsxr 601 that I tried to use with them but they were very hard to tune and were not comfortable to listen to. So I went back to the Harman and never really turn the volume past -25. My room has tile floor with two very large wool area rugs that almost cover the entire floor. Front are turned in slightly toward listening area and center angle slightly down as it is located on top of widescreen.
Anyway, I will continue to try some of the suggestions above. Thanks for help.

Tour2ma · December 2005

So are the Mon 50's being run set to small for both HT and music? or are they wired through the PSW350...

Just trying to get a sense of the demands on your AVR here...

And yes, out of the box, the Monitor series is fairly bright, but by most accounts they settle in after a while.

MikDrago · December 2005

All speakers set to small. This is polks recommendation. LFE out on amp to line input (filtered) on sub and set at 85hz. I think my avr has built in crossover for 100hz and is not user changable. My onkyo has adjustable crossover settings but is not as clear sounding as hk. The onkyo is a little tinny where the harman is much fuller and has a more detailed sound. I guess I will just have to wait for the tweeters to mellow out a bit. Mids and bass are beautiful.
I wish there were more retailers around that offer the rti line to audition. We are unfortunate here to mostly having Circuit City and Best Buy. It would be an amazing thing if the people there were knowledgable enough to properly calibrate and wire there equipment to provide a well balanced audition instead of just cranking up everything and hope that you appreciate the loudness rather than the quality. I know that the monitor line is the entry level speaker for these types of speakers but polks lineup is far superior to other speaker companies in this price range, in my opinion.

I really do appreciate the comments/help that everyone has provided. Happy holidays to everyone hear in this forum.

Tour2ma · December 2005

First, you're creating a hole in your system's response with the way your sub is set. Either go to it via the unfiltered input or raise its cross-over to the maximum. Nothing to do with the brightness issue, but the way you are set right now, nothing is "in charge of" the 85 to 100 Hz zone.

On the brightness... You're set as best you can be to minimize the load on your AVR, but as was pointed out in the first reply you got, you have been pushing things a bit hard... and that will mean strained sound.

I auditioned the Monitor's on an HK AVR at CC. Bright? Yes, but not irritatingly so. Then again, I tend to like my sounds somewhat brighter than the average person.

If you can borrow a power amp from a bud, wire it in to run your 50's for a test and see if that makes a difference.

Otherwise, ease back the volume and sit back and see if they settle in.

And yes, the RTi's tweeter is smoother, but many still consider it bright for music.

Happy to be of any assistance we can be. Let us know if things improve...

BjornB17 · December 2005

I have the Monitor 70s and if i have the trebble knob on my HK AVR130 rotated past 12 o'clock the tweeters will indeed sound scratchy and even can make a high-pitched screetch. Obviously non of this can be good for the speakers so i leave my tone controls neutral and now the Monitor 70s sound very very nice

tweeters in polk monitors

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